Holidays snowed under with TV specials, movies
Deck the halls and rev up the DVR. A veritable blizzard of holiday-themed fare is about to blow into your television sets.
Yes, once again the broadcast networks and cable channels have pieced together a vast lineup of specials, movies and animated treats celebrating the most wonderful time of the year.
To help you get with the program, we’ve made a list of the main holiday highlights coming to prime time from now until Christmas. The rundown starts with this year’s fresh fare and is followed by a list of airdates for the perennials.
New under the tree
▪ Sunday: “One Christmas Eve” – Anne Heche stars as a recently divorced mom who wants the “perfect” Christmas for her kids. (7 p.m., Hallmark)
▪ Monday: “CMA Country Christmas” – Jennifer Nettles hosts a holiday hoedown with some of her pals, including Carrie Underwood, Idina Menzel and Hunter Hayes. (7 p.m., ABC); “Greatest Holiday Commercials Countdown” – A holly jolly celebration of the best seasonal TV ads. (8 p.m., The CW)
▪ Tuesday: “Toy Story That Time Forgot” – The gang from Pixar, including Buzz and Woody, find themselves pitted against dangerously delusional action figures during the holidays. (7 p.m., ABC)
▪ Wednesday: “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” – Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Cyndi Lauper and Sara Bareilles light up the big tree in the Big Apple. (7 p.m., NBC); “SNL Christmas” – Holiday-themed sketches from 40 years of “Saturday Night Live.” (8 p.m., wondf)
▪ Thursday: “Peter Pan Live!” – Allison Williams and Christopher Walken (as Captain Hook) star in the musical about the boy who refuses to grow up. (7 p.m., NBC); “Renee Fleming – Christmas in New York” – The dynamic soprano and her guests help make the evening bright. (8 p.m., PBS)
▪ Friday: “How Murray Saved Christmas” – An animated tale about a cranky deli owner (voiced by Jerry Stiller) who is forced to fill in for Santa and does a weirdly wonderful job. (7 p.m., NBC); “A Very Grammy Christmas” – Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Tim McGraw and Pharrell Williams perform. Also: Nominees for Album of the Year are announced. (8 p.m., CBS)
▪ Dec. 6: “Debbie Macomber’s Mr. Miracle” – An angel (Rob Morrow) helps a grieving woman get her life back on track. (7 p.m., Hallmark); “Wally Lamb’s Wishin’ and Hopin’ ” – Molly Ringwold stars in and Chevy Chase narrates this 1960s-era family holiday saga. (7 p.m., Lifetime)
▪ Dec. 7: “Christmas at Cartwright’s” – A down-on-her-luck woman (Alicia Witt) fakes being a guy to get a job as a department store Santa. (7 p.m., Hallmark)
▪ Dec. 8: “The Great Christmas Light Flight” – The Clark Griswolds of the world face off in a home-decorating competition. (7 p.m., ABC)
▪ Dec. 13: “Best Christmas Party Ever” – Against major opposition, a young party planner (Torrey DeVitto) arranges a special event for a New York City toy store. (7 p.m., Hallmark); “The Santa Con” – A small-time con man (Barry Watson) is ordered by his parole officer to take a job as a department store Santa. (7 p.m., Lifetime)
▪ Dec. 14: “The Christmas Parade” – A network TV morning host (AnnaLynne McCord) looks to revive her holiday spirit while helping to build a small town’s parade float. (7 p.m., Hallmark)
▪ Dec. 16: “Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas” – An animated saga inspired by the 2003 Will Ferrell movie, with Jim Parsons voicing the title character. (7 p.m., NBC); “America’s Funniest Home Videos Christmas Spectacular” – Hilarious holiday-themed videos. (8 p.m., ABC); “A Chef’s Life Holiday Special” – Chef Vivian Howard draws on her Southern heritage and husband’s Hanukkah traditions for a delicious celebration (9 p.m., PBS)
▪ Dec. 17: “Michael Buble’s Christmas in New York” – The popular crooner belts out holiday favorites at Radio City Music Hall. (7 p.m., NBC)
▪ Dec. 18: “The iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2014” – Taylor Swift, Iggy Azalea, Sam Smith, Maroon 5 and more perform in concert at Madison Square Garden. (7 p.m., The CW)
▪ Dec. 19: “A Home for the Holidays” – Celebrities come together to shine the light on foster care adoption. (8 p.m., CBS); “Christmas With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir” – Deborah Voigt and John Rhys-Davies join the musical celebration this year. (8 p.m., PBS)
▪ Dec. 25: “Disney Parks Frozen Christmas Celebration” – Music, magic and merriment from Disney’s two U.S. theme parks. (9 a.m., ABC)
Holiday evergreens
Dates and times for prime-time airings of traditional animated specials and film favorites. (Note: Many programs have multiple repeat airings not posted here. Consult your listings for additional information.)
▪ Sunday: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (9 p.m., ABC Family)
▪ Monday: “Elf” (7 p.m., ABC Family)
▪ Tuesday: “The Santa Claus” (7 p.m., ABC Family); “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (7:30 p.m., ABC)
▪ Wednesday: “The Polar Express” (8 p.m., ABC Family)
▪ Thursday: “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” (8 p.m., ABC Family)
▪ Dec. 6: “It’s a Wonderful Life” (7 p.m., NBC); “Arthur Christmas” (8 p.m., ABC Family)
▪ Dec. 7: “I Love Lucy Christmas Special” (7 p.m., CBS)
▪ Dec. 9: “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (7 p.m., CBS); “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town” (7 p.m., ABC); “Rudolph’s Shiny New Year” (9 p.m., ABC Family)
▪ Dec. 11: “Scrooged” (8 p.m., ABC Family); “Holiday Affair” (8:45 p.m., TCM)
▪ Dec. 12: “White Christmas” (6 p.m., AMC); “Miracle on 34th Street” (8:30 p.m., ABC Family)
▪ Dec. 13: “Frosty Returns” (8:30 p.m., CBS)
▪ Dec. 15: “The Year Without a Santa Claus” (7 p.m., ABC Family)
▪ Dec. 16: “Disney Prep & Landing” (7 p.m., ABC); “Prep & Landing 2: Naughty vs. Nice” (7:30 p.m., ABC)
▪ Dec. 17: “A Christmas Carol,” 1938 (7 p.m., TCM); “Scrooge,” 1970 (8:15 p.m., TCM); “Scrooge,” 1935 (10:15 p.m., TCM)
▪ Dec. 19: “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” (7 p.m., The CW)
▪ Dec. 20: “I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!” (7 p.m., ABC)
▪ Dec. 23: “Shrek the Halls” (7 p.m., ABC)
▪ Dec. 24: “It’s a Wonderful Life” (7 p.m., NBC); “A Christmas Story” marathon (7 p.m., TBS; runs through Christmas)
▪ Dec. 25: “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (7 p.m., ABC); “The 12 Dogs of Christmas” (7 p.m., The CW); “Home Alone” (8 p.m., ABC Family)
This story was originally published November 29, 2014 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Holidays snowed under with TV specials, movies."